40+ People Who Wanted To Be Crafty But Soon Realized Maybe It Wasn’t The Way To Go

By Farah J

This article was originally published on mydiwise

DIY projects have taken over the world – they own it, and nobody can stop it. Well, at least we won’t. Because who else is going to give us all this fun content in such a gloomy world? DIY fails are one of our favorite things to scroll when we feel like wasting our time and laughing our heads off! Agree to disagree; even though these projects started as a way for creative people to show off their skills, the DIY thing has become something so much bigger. We say this because we spend most of our time going through these tutorials, and sometimes things do not go well for the crafters and those trying to “do it themselves.” It’s been really chaotic in the DIY world, and even though the people try to get the instructions correctly, well, the result turns out to be a total fail: disappointing yet hilarious!

Scented candles – orange

Why buy scented candles when you can make one at your home with purely natural ingredients? Well, we assume that this was the thought going through the person’s mind who got duped by the DIY crafters on the internet. That top image does look convincing, though.

People are trying way too hard to save money and make scented candles themselves. And when it comes down to the “do it yourself” mission impossible, people don’t hesitate to take help from the internet. Well, here are the consequences of trusting Google.

Halloween Christmas tree

Grandmas are the best. No kidding there. Even on Christmas, this one gave her family a Halloween present (note the sarcasm). Imagine the surprise and horror on the grandkids’ faces when they arrived at grandma’s place to celebrate the holiday…

They probably laughed their heads off the entire holiday whenever they looked at the creepy “snowmen” hovering over them like a forbidden shadow in the dark. But hey, this isn’t a bad first attempt. We bought our tree and everything on it from Target.

Alive dead

This crocheted birdie’s décor expectation versus reality reminds us of two things: 1. When you’re with your boo versus when they leave – you know, the representation of love and heartbreak. Whoever crocheted these little birdies probably said, “I feel you, lil brothers, I feel you.”

And 2. The introverts’ community: like when introverts end up dead inside, void of emotions and energy, after a few minutes of socialization. The poor birdies look like they have an existential crisis. We understand your pain; we’re with you, birdies.

Fashion Met Gala

People wear the weirdest stuff when it comes to high fashion. We started wearing leaves for clothes when the human race began, and we ended up in shreds again. We completed the cycle. Hurray for us! Thank you, DIY hand-weaving community.

Image Source: chelsea.meza / Instagram and yarnspirations.com

Wearing a fancy volleyball net will likely become a fashion statement; all you have to do is let a well-known celebrity wear it. So no worries over this DIY fail! It just needs to be featured on an A-lister’s Insta.

Floating snowman

Snow globes are the prettiest things. With the fake snowfall and cute little scenes or figures in them, well, who doesn’t like to have one or two sitting on their side table? Not to mention that it’s a perfect gift for someone, too.

Image Source: MacQ / Flickr and craftfail.com

But when you want to make something unique, you, just like us, turn to crafting. DIY artisans have this exceptional talent of making everything look so easy. It’s almost like psychological manipulation that we could ever end up with the version on top.

Leopard eyeshadow or hairy eyelids?

Well, it’s the disappointed look in the person’s eyes after trying to get the perfect leopard eyeshadow look that gets us. They obviously didn’t get what they expected; of course, their eyes say it all. We assume she tried to get the leopard’s black polka dots instead of a black wormy look.

Or does it look more like thick black hair on the eyelids? Whatever the ending result looks like, it’s not what she wanted. If we were her and this happened to us even though we did exactly what the DIY tutorial said, we would have cried.

Where did the good go?

We all have been there. And when we say “there,” we believe that you know what we mean. We are all practically in the same boat where we are always looking for new different ways to wrap a present for someone, and we like to turn to DIY tutorials for that.

Because who takes a champagne bottle in a brown paper bag to their friend’s house as a housewarming gift? No one. We need to make it look pretty. And what better than everyone’s favorite chocolate balls? Ferrero Rocher seems like bonus goods unless you and handicrafts do not get along.

String balloon burst

This is us trying. Don’t judge us; our balloons just don’t seem to like us. Yes, we know that this is a very simple and easy DIY; we all have been watching this tutorial ever since the internet was born. But it’s only pretty when your craft doesn’t look like spaghetti gone wrong.

Image Source: juicy-bits.typepad.com and Heather / craftfail.com

This person is going through the same struggle as we did when we first tried making these pretty colorful string balloon balls after DIY experts impressed us with this beauty. But little did we know that, like this DIY hilarious fail, we’d end up a laughing stock.

Hands speak a million words

We cannot describe this picture in mere mortal words because it speaks a thousand words on its own. We don’t even feel the need to laugh at you, dear person who failed big time at making garden hand pots. You probably died of laughter when you saw this, too!

The hand pots look like such an admirably creative thing to put in your garden. We appreciate the creative thought behind it. We bet that little did this hopeful amateur crafter know that these hands would be mocking them in the end.

Paw print fails

This disaster speaks for itself. Whoever owns dogs knows this struggle. And well, they probably anticipated, too, that there was no way that it was NOT going to end up in a mess. They might have gotten a decent print of the dog’s paw after hundreds of tries, and not before.

Image Source: meganb4e1e2751b / Buzzfeed

But, as dog owners, we understand the feeling, pal. This DIY perfect paw print doesn’t exist anywhere in this world unless the dog you’re taking the impression of a dog sculpture. Because, there is no way that this cannot end in a total failure!

Oh, oh, oh! Oh no!

This is what we imagine Santa would sing on Christmas while he was going through an existential crisis. Well, by the looks of that, this woman is having a rough time following instructions and might be feeling a Christmas crisis coming on too.

DIY fails mostly happen when you procrastinate so much for the entire month, and you leave the holiday décor for the last moment that you end up with disappointment flags instead of the joyous ho ho ho’s! Don’t be a Grinch, friends! Make the best of your fails.

Cherry “bottom” blossoms

We feel for the painter, honestly. They probably were only trying to find a shortcut for making perfect cherry blossom trees, and the DIY project ended up giving them these. They probably regretted it later because their cherry blossom tree looks like it just went through a hurricane.

Craft enthusiasts come up with the most interesting and creative shortcuts for artworks out of the most commonly used things, and sometimes trash too, that you can’t help but try. Most of them may end up as failed experiments, though – just a warning.

The hanging glow balls

This is a weird DIY project, but the glow is satisfying, at least. But it is only satisfying in the dark. The balls hanging all around are downright creepy and cringe-worthy in the daytime. Especially when they are not glowing. Who even thought of this?

Image Source: yankodesign.com and Robyn Gerow / pinterestfail.com

So, it’s the least to say that this DIY craft is a total disaster! Whoever decided that it was okay to hang multiple glowing balls from the ceiling all around the place had a nice idea, but we think we will stick with good old fairy lights.

String balloon burst #2

Either it’s a plastic wire or a colorful thread, or sometimes it’s the yarn that DIYers recommend. But it seems like people are having trouble with all of the options for making string décor. It is not as easy as it looks.

Image Source: blog.landofnod.com and craftfail.com

It is much more than that. It takes concentration and coordination. Because being a kid in this world is hard already, and keeping the balloon in place while you’re trying to wrap the sticky yarn around it… kid, have mercy on yourself.

Door sock-it

Something about the holidays brings out our sentimental side, and we all want unique homemade decorations. This DIYer understood the assignment and gave us something to decorate our houses with, even if it is made of our smelly ol’ socks!

Like, just between us, who knew that socks could be a part of décor? Not us. We didn’t try this DIY, though, unlike this family. They had the guts to try this DIY, and even though the results didn’t come out as expected, they didn’t give a single dang and hung it outside their house! Props to them.

Lip-sprinkles

Get it? Lips and sprinkles, lip-sprinkles? We are kind of proud of this name, unlike the person who actually tried this DIY of getting lips full of sprinkles. And those aren’t even the ones used in the DIY tutorial picture! Like, if you were aiming to fail, at least fail with dignity!

The DIY lip-sprinkles may seem hot, but how long do you think they will be trendy? Unless you apply a glue stick to your lips and then dip them in a bowl full of colorful sprinkles, you aren’t getting that nice sweet looking set of lips for more than a few minutes. So, yeah.

Let it go

Elsa isn’t having any of the elf on the shelf’s nonsense today. He is in such a painful position that it might be questioning all his life decisions. Elsa here seems like she won’t be unfreezing him any time soon. Well, the elf should’ve seen it coming.

Image Source: Kelly / pinterestfails.com

Enough with their perspectives. We find this DIY fail one of the most hilarious of all. Whoever tried to replicate the DIY project of Elsa freezing Mr. Elf should’ve double – or maybe triple-checked the elf’s position before putting it in the freezer!

Dinosoaps

It was easy, they said. Just squeeze it, and the soap will come out, they said. Well, “they” were wrong. “They” didn’t know that the struggle of making dino egg soap isn’t the same for all. Most of us end up with dinosaur behinds in our faces while trying to squeeze out the soap.

Image Source: thatlesleygirl / Instagram

We thought this was foolproof until we tried making it ourselves. Let’s just say that it didn’t go very well, just like this person who probably was really excited about having dino egg soap in their bathroom but ended up rolling on the floor at the dinosaur’s rear end.

Albino roses

Who doesn’t remember rainbow roses? They were trending on the internet back in the day when DIYers introduced them to the world. Their neon-bright colors and luminescent beauty had us blown away then, and everybody wanted to have them.

Image Source: alldaychic.com and pinterestfail.com

Yellow, red, and pink roses had a rough time when everyone wanted the rainbow version. Seems like someone actually tried making them at home, too. Well, we don’t know where they went wrong, but it looks like these roses are simply soulless.

Hedgehog pin cushion

Who thinks that this DIY isn’t a total fail? This isn’t a fail at all. Sure, they don’t look the same, but look at them. Both are adorable as heck! Whoever tried recreating this DIY hedgehog pin cushion, we are willing to pay them to make us one too!

This DIY “fail” is one of the DIY “wins,” as a matter of fact, and no one can tell us otherwise. Whoever decided to send this adorable little thing to be included in the DIY fails article, well, let’s just say we are going to have a word. This possum is adorable!

Hair “down” do

Fellas, can we simply say that this isn’t a thing that you can just try out and expect it not to fail on the first try? Unless you are a professional hairstylist, you are bound to fail. It’s like you are asking for it – you know, aiming for failure.

And another thing that we would like to address to the person who tried doing this without any previous experience in this hairstyling, you did great! This is not a failed attempt; you did better than most people would ever have done.

Frustration Jar

The urge to reach in the picture and shake the jars is real. Especially the failed DIY jar craft. And it’s frustrating that we cannot! The two very different layers of blue water and glitter make us want to roughly shake it till it becomes one mush.

When DIY people thought of making a “calming jar,” little did they know that people with no prior experience or talent in crafting will turn the whole thing upside down and create another thing but the opposite of it – the frustration jar.

Milk jug penguin

The horror that lies in this recreation of the adorable McDonald’s milk jug penguin is unspeakable! This is a major fail, but we have to send condolences to the creator. This DIY craft, as well as this image, is cursed.

Image Source: repeatcrafterme.com and pinterestfail.com

When DIY originally branched out to recycling plastics and other materials to create things like these pretty milk jugs penguins, they surely were not expecting anything like this. If a child made it, we would happily pretend it looks fabulous, though!

Melted crayon art #3

We cannot stress how much we believe that the recreation of this DIY melted crayon art is way more “human,” original, and beautiful than the DIY expectation craft itself. The expectations are way too unreal, and it looks like it’s photoshopped.

Image Source: ann marie bone / craftfail.com

We are not ready to call it a DIY fail because it is not! Sure it is funny that the DIY craft that was supposed to look like the original tutorial picture didn’t turn out that exact way, but at least the entire thing didn’t burst into flame.

Galaxy shoe customization

Who else remembers the 2000s trend where everything was galaxy-themed? Everything was covered in blue and purple galaxy print, from shoes to bags, notebook covers, and water bottles. We were totally on board with it and still have a soft spot for spacey things.

Well, it seems like this shoe customizing is before that printing era. And let’s be honest, the effort is not bad at all. The white splash messed them up a little, but it’s still awesome! It doesn’t look manufactured like the top photo, but it is unique and super cute!

Wreath woes

Another home décor fail that has us rolling on the floor! And it’s not socks; this time, it’s corn! How did anyone come up with this idea? We assume that the conversation must have gone like, “I don’t wanna buy a wreath; go grab a basket of corn, and let’s make it work somehow.”

Image Source: stonegableblog.com, and mypinstrositylife.com

And they did it, we guess. We are not sure how the bottom image even came to be. Looks like they needed twice as much corn and a much wider ring to work with. They know for next time, at least.

Swirly nail art #2

Nail art is beyond us. Not everyone can decide to get off their couch and paint their nails in perfect swirls of multiple colors. No, it doesn’t happen that way. It requires a lot of practice, no matter what anyone tells you.

Image Source: craftfail.com and Mariane Ávila / Flickr

Well, the “zombie” nails are proof that this person tried their darndest. We are impressed you can still see all the different colors. Most people don’t succeed on their first try, and since we aren’t even trying, we can’t judge.

Cake or makeup?

Well, we will only say one thing: this is not her best work. Don’t get us wrong; we are not judging her makeup game; we just can’t help but feel like they didn’t try too hard. Oh, well, we can relate to that.

Image Source: Maureen Jordan / Pinterest

We don’t know exactly if they put any sort of effort into doing their makeup, but by the looks of it, it seems like they didn’t. This looks like they challenged themselves on a dull rainy day to do a makeup tutorial and put the video on double speed.

SpongeBob Swing

Well, we aren’t questioning the parents’ good intentions behind this DIY project for a toddler swing. They are probably trying to make the most out of Dad’s denim jeans. Why trash a good piece of denim when you can upcycle it into a toddler’s toy?

And the first thing that came into the parents’ mind was DIY crafts? Of course. We don’t blame them, and if we had a toddler and denim to spare, we’d be in the same position. We are pretty sure that the reality didn’t satisfy them, though.

Upgraded Easter Eggs

The intricacy in the lace eggs is unfathomable, to be honest. But how did they do it on an EGGSHELL? We have questions. It’s probably either photoshopped, or this isn’t an eggshell at all. But the person who was impressed by this thought it was.

Image Source: theNestatWindyCorner / etsy and Rebecca S / pinterestfail.com

The Easter bunny isn’t taking nonsense when decorating Easter eggs. And neither are the DIY craftsmen, and the upgraded form is marvelous. But the reality seems quite the opposite – we can sense the frustration and disappointment in the person through the picture!

Nail Décor

People can be pretty creative artists when it comes to nail art. It’s become a thing in the past decade, and people are not holding back. From bejeweled nails to abstract designs, drawing cartoon characters, to – well, almost anything – nail art is a true art form.

Image Source: vkrasote.net and alyceparis.com

But it looks like it’s not everyone’s cup of tea! People sure do try hard by getting their nails done themselves, instead of going to the salon and getting them done by a professional. We recommend this woman keep trying!

Knitted winter caps

Knitting reminds us of our beloved grandparents. Bless them; if we’d learned as kids, we wouldn’t have to go to DIY knitting craft tutorials to get ourselves a wintery cap! Remember when we all had multiple colored and styled winter caps that our grandparents knitted us?

Image Source: annymalla / Instagram and Robyn Devine / raverly.com

We outgrew them, and now most of us are stuck with DIY knitting, just like this guy. He surely isn’t having a great day after spending a whole lot of time and effort into knitting that piece. But he replicated it better than many of us would ever be able to.

Crocheted Stuffed Hippo

Crochet isn’t our greatest strength either. Whatever our grandparents’ most incredible talents were, they didn’t pass it onto us. Knitting, crochet, sewing, anything that is homely and DIY itself, we did not get that raw talent. And now DIY crafters are making money off of our lack of knowledge. Good for them, really.

Image Source: jessica-jensen.blogspot.com

Who doesn’t love stuffed toys? And on top of that, a crocheted hippo with beady black eyes and the softest paws? Stores no longer sell this pure cuddly stuff, so “DIY” it! Even if we don’t get the hippo, we might get a cuddly snake!

Autumn “meat” candle holder

As soon as autumn arrives, the candles come out. Our houses look like old mansions with hundreds of flames and ancient holders adorning the place. Scented or not, candles are our favorite thing to light up in the snuggly season of fall.

Image Source: Gloria / pinterestfail.com

Now, candles and autumn leaves in one? The symbolism is impressive, but the autumn leaves candle holder décor looks like meat pasted on the jar without the candle inside. Doesn’t it? Maybe a different type of glue would have gotten the desired effect?

Nail art #2

Swirl nail art was a trend back in the 2010s. Well, we now know why it isn’t a trend anymore! Swirly nail art was a talent that not all of us could accomplish. Speaking for ourselves, we still do not know how the nail artists do it!

But at the same time, we probably won’t be looking too much into it after seeing this swirly nail art fail. The DIY fail did perhaps give them a lesson of a lifetime (not to laugh at their attempt)! But at least they tried, unlike most of us.

Mr. Buttons Bowl

Well, by the looks of the reality of this DIY fail situation, we believe that the person doing the craftwork wasn’t trying to make it shape like a bowl. If they were aiming for an ashtray, they got what they had in mind.

It seems like a pretty tricky task. The shaping part, mainly. We can glue the whole button thing together, but the perfect shape… how did they do it? We have some nerve to laugh at DIY craft fails for people who aren’t even familiar with a glue gun.

Melted crayon art

Rainbows and unicorns! Well, not for the person who died trying (metaphorically, of course) catching rainbows and unicorns by melting crayons as someone did in the DIY project. A big fail and a hilarious one at that! We love the duct tape detail.

Image Source: megduerksen.typepad.com and craftfail.com

Like, who melts crayons by duct-taping them on the wall and expect it to go all rainbow-ey? Not us, nope. Sure, it looks pretty and colorful, but fellas, come on! Why would you want to melt crayons in the first place?

Melted crayon art #2

Don’t even want to start with this one. And we are almost 99% sure that the person who tried replicating the melted crayon art did not correctly read or hear the instructions of the DIY craft they were planning to work on.

We hope they are okay. Because the look of this burned-up rainbow art isn’t good – they probably had to call the fire department to put out the fire. So, it’s like a life lesson for all of you to NOT melt crayons – or anything, for that matter – while they are stuck to a flammable object!

Tie knots upgrade

Who knew tie knots could be this hard? The upgrade looks impressive, and the DIY tutorials make it seem pretty easy too, but if there’s one thing we cannot accomplish no matter how hard and how many times we try, it’s the tie knots! Why?!

DIY tie knot crafters, or whoever is in charge of this project, really need to upgrade their tutorials, too, because this is taking us nowhere! In reality, we all are this person, and there’s no hiding that. Whoever decided to leave us dozens of fancy tie knot ideas, thanks, but no thanks!

Teenage mutant Pomeranian dog

They did the dog bad. They did our little guy so bad that it hurts to see him like this. We are crying over the DIY fail! This floof guy looks more like a pile of white cotton wool than a Pomeranian.

The DIY project in the magazine, if you look at it, gave the instructions as if we’d end up with a live dog in front of us. We don’t know who under-delivered here, but the little guy is making us laugh and cry at the same time.

Jacked up jack-o-lantern

Sure, pumpkin carving is challenging, but this is extra. We aren’t very good at the intricately detailed carving on the pumpkin either, but at least we stick to the simple triangle eyes and crazy zig-zag mouth. It’s much harder to mess that up.

Image Source: Megan Whitesall / Facebook

This guy did not understand the assignment, but we’re sure he can salvage it if he puts his thinking cap on (which he should have done from the beginning, but we digress). The feathers look pretty good, not going to lie.

Fashion gone wrong

This is the perfect representation of “online shopping.” Even though it isn’t. At least, it doesn’t look like the person bought the dress off the internet. The shreds and the cutting says it all. It’s enough for us to judge her sewing capabilities.

Image Source: apairandasparediy.com and Tara / pinterestfail.com

The expectations were way too high. Of course, it was gonna end up in a disaster and ultimately on the list of DIY fails. It doesn’t look like remotely the same material. Plus, it’s not like this was a tutorial; it’s just a regular dress in an online store.

Dumb or dumber?

This is just dumb and ignorant. It is like pure science. Common sense, actually: plastic beads stick to hot metal plates like iron and get melted. We are sure the instructions or tutorial video added a caveat about adding something in between the beads and hot iron.

Image Source: monika_unicorn / Instagram

The person probably thinks twice now before throwing out the instructions. This isn’t even a DIY fail, but it sure is a hilarious fail in life! And here we thought we were the royalty of DIY fails. We pass our crowns.

Pressed flowers

Origami isn’t everyone’s specialty. Sure, it’s pretty and wholesome, but it is not everyone’s cup of tea. Especially if you are making origami roses for your loved one, you should consider other options like fake flowers or an actual bouquet.

This person took origami to a whole other level. We struggle with making roses that look alive like DIY teaches us, but this person made pressed roses that you keep in books! Jokes aside, this isn’t the worst first attempt we’ve seen.

Broken fork hearts

This DIY craft is not only crazy cool but also impossible. Like, how can you shape a metal fork in such delicate and perfect hearts? Because someone just ruined their cutlery by trying to replicate this craziness. We suspect you need special tools for this.

People need to stop doing every project they see online. Or they should keep pursuing their dreams. Either way, just keep sending us photos of those fails so we can remember why we hardly ever give them a go ourselves.

That’s so sweet!

When we first saw this, we couldn’t really make out what those were, but we later found out they were sprinkles, of all things. Why anyone would want their countertop to look like someone had spilled hundreds upon hundreds of sprinkles on it, we have no idea.

Frankly, we would be so paranoid about having this in our kitchen because of ants. Those tiny little bugs always have a way of sneaking into the most unlikely places as soon as they detect sugar! Definitely not worth it.

Rocky shower

We get it; rock shower decor is quite popular and with good reason. We imagine taking a shower in a bathroom with that kind of theme every day makes you feel like you’re standing under a majestic waterfall in the middle of a gorgeous jungle.

However, we doubt the same can be said about showering in this bathroom. It looks like someone started the project wholeheartedly, but they kinda lost their vision and morale in the middle of it. We pity whoever has to look at this daily.